Depends. We do have Kyle Allen (Rivals #1 ranked QB) coming in.
The WR corps will be even better (return of Ricky Seals Jones from medical redshirt) and the defense will have had a year to mature (plus I think we have found our ILB answer in Claiborne). There's going to be a QB dropoff for sure, but how much is the question. As long as we go 1-0 every week it's all good.

Johnny footballs dont grow on trees so the odds are A&M will have a very noticable drop off. A&M would have to make huge strides in D to offset a drop of Johnny just to stay on par imo

That's amusing. "Those folks are dumb and can step off". Wanted to stop reading right there. The "You disagree with me so you're dumb" point is pretty stupid in and of itself. That's just the author giving his Aggie readers a little positive reinforcement to offset their life-long inferiority complex received at the hands of decades of subservience to UT.

USC is in a class of programs that A&M will never enter. Oklahoma, UT, USC, Notre Dame, Alabama..... A&M isn't one of those teams. It's the team that those teams climb over along the way (sometimes with difficulty, A&M is a very good program.... no shame in that) to get to the National Championships they earn decade after decade.

A&M has to claim imaginary titles from the distant past to make itself feel good about even bumping shoulders with those schools. Being the head football coach at USC is a big thing whether the local Aggie fans want to admit it or not. Being the head football coach at Texas A&M isn't as a big a thing at all. It just isn't.

You get someone great to stay around for a couple of decades and win a few national championships and you'll be getting there. Hell, being the head football coach at A&M doesn't even hold a candle to being the head football coach at LSU. How could it ever compare to being the head football coach at USC?

USC is in a class of programs that A&M will never enter. Oklahoma, UT, USC, Notre Dame, Alabama..... A&M isn't one of those teams. It's the team that those teams climb over along the way (sometimes with difficulty, A&M is a very good program.... no shame in that) to get to the National Championships they earn decade after decade.

A&M has to claim imaginary titles from the distant past to make itself feel good about even bumping shoulders with those schools. Being the head football coach at USC is a big thing whether the local Aggie fans want to admit it or not. Being the head football coach at Texas A&M isn't as a big a thing at all. It just isn't.

You get someone great to stay around for a couple of decades and win a few national championships and you'll be getting there. Hell, being the head football coach at A&M doesn't even hold a candle to being the head football coach at LSU. How could it ever compare to being the head football coach at USC?

So much buthurt and/or ignorance of the current state of affairs. A&M isn't an "elite" school but it's certainly top 10-15. ANd just because a school had success in the past doesn't mean they will continue to.

Which of those schools you mentioned are currently "elite"?

Oklahoma - recruiting is dying a slow death. Their heyday is when they were cherry picking the top talent in Texas. They've been steadily declining the past 5 years and just last year, as co-champs, got destroyed by A&M. They are not fighting for recruits against Baylor and TCU.

UT - One NC during the Mack Brown era. One. UT is mainly considered "elite" because of MONEY. They can and will likely have to money whip a coach to bring them in, especially with all the turmoil and quick turnaround the fans and boosters will expect and demand.

Notre Dame - had one great year (2012) and two good years since Lou Holtz left in 1996. Been through 4 head coaches during that time as well. Brian Kelly wasn't their first choice either.

USC - Had a great run under Pete Carroll but even that was marred by cheating and other scandals. Is currently under sanctions and the roster and recruiting is frankly a dumpster fire. Will take a lot of cash to bring in a big name head coach to try to turn around the mess. Not really a "destination job" currently, though it could be with the right coach.

Alabama - Yes, this is a legit "elite" school right now.

A&M is a hot team right now and broke fundraising records this past fiscal year. Plus, with the additional cash expected to come from the SEC Network starting in 2014, you can expect A&M to be able to match any offer short of a Texas or Ohio State.

And, like I've said, people close to Sumlin have said that he and his family loves A&M and College Station and the lifestyle there and he wants to stay awhile and build the program. He has tons of in-roads and contacts in HS in Texas and LA. And he's the best college coach for the best team in Texas playing in the best conference in the country. He may leave eventually and his agent will probably use USC to get another raise for him (deservedly). But USC isn't currently a better job for him and I'm betting he won't leave.

So much buthurt and/or ignorance of the current state of affairs. A&M isn't an "elite" school but it's certainly top 10-15. ANd just because a school had success in the past doesn't mean they will continue to.

Which of those schools you mentioned are currently "elite"?

Oklahoma - recruiting is dying a slow death. Their heyday is when they were cherry picking the top talent in Texas. They've been steadily declining the past 5 years and just last year, as co-champs, got destroyed by A&M. They are not fighting for recruits against Baylor and TCU.

UT - One NC during the Mack Brown era. One. UT is mainly considered "elite" because of MONEY. They can and will likely have to money whip a coach to bring them in, especially with all the turmoil and quick turnaround the fans and boosters will expect and demand.

Notre Dame - had one great year (2012) and two good years since Lou Holtz left in 1996. Been through 4 head coaches during that time as well. Brian Kelly wasn't their first choice either.

USC - Had a great run under Pete Carroll but even that was marred by cheating and other scandals. Is currently under sanctions and the roster and recruiting is frankly a dumpster fire. Will take a lot of cash to bring in a big name head coach to try to turn around the mess. Not really a "destination job" currently, though it could be with the right coach.

Alabama - Yes, this is a legit "elite" school right now.

A&M is a hot team right now and broke fundraising records this past fiscal year. Plus, with the additional cash expected to come from the SEC Network starting in 2014, you can expect A&M to be able to match any offer short of a Texas or Ohio State.

And, like I've said, people close to Sumlin have said that he and his family loves A&M and College Station and the lifestyle there and he wants to stay awhile and build the program. He has tons of in-roads and contacts in HS in Texas and LA. And he's the best college coach for the best team in Texas playing in the best conference in the country. He may leave eventually and his agent will probably use USC to get another raise for him (deservedly). But USC isn't currently a better job for him and I'm betting he won't leave.

Homer, LOL

I agree with you.

I dont understand why Sumlin is getting all of this love. Has he ever won a confrence championship, even though when he walked on to campus 2 of the best college QB's (Keenum/Manziel) were there courtesy of being recruited by Briles/Sherman.

So much buthurt and/or ignorance of the current state of affairs. A&M isn't an "elite" school but it's certainly top 10-15. ANd just because a school had success in the past doesn't mean they will continue to.

Which of those schools you mentioned are currently "elite"?

Oklahoma - recruiting is dying a slow death. Their heyday is when they were cherry picking the top talent in Texas. They've been steadily declining the past 5 years and just last year, as co-champs, got destroyed by A&M. They are not fighting for recruits against Baylor and TCU.

UT - One NC during the Mack Brown era. One. UT is mainly considered "elite" because of MONEY. They can and will likely have to money whip a coach to bring them in, especially with all the turmoil and quick turnaround the fans and boosters will expect and demand.

Notre Dame - had one great year (2012) and two good years since Lou Holtz left in 1996. Been through 4 head coaches during that time as well. Brian Kelly wasn't their first choice either.

USC - Had a great run under Pete Carroll but even that was marred by cheating and other scandals. Is currently under sanctions and the roster and recruiting is frankly a dumpster fire. Will take a lot of cash to bring in a big name head coach to try to turn around the mess. Not really a "destination job" currently, though it could be with the right coach.

Alabama - Yes, this is a legit "elite" school right now.

A&M is a hot team right now and broke fundraising records this past fiscal year. Plus, with the additional cash expected to come from the SEC Network starting in 2014, you can expect A&M to be able to match any offer short of a Texas or Ohio State.

And, like I've said, people close to Sumlin have said that he and his family loves A&M and College Station and the lifestyle there and he wants to stay awhile and build the program. He has tons of in-roads and contacts in HS in Texas and LA. And he's the best college coach for the best team in Texas playing in the best conference in the country. He may leave eventually and his agent will probably use USC to get another raise for him (deservedly). But USC isn't currently a better job for him and I'm betting he won't leave.

Auburn sure looked elite when it had Cam Newton. How 'bout now?

USC, UT, Alabama, Ohio State... they all have multi-generational, nationwide fanbases. Even when they suck, they draw ratings and some unfairly high BCS rankings.

No one outside of Texas gave a crap about A&M until Johnny Football showed up. Do you honestly think national audiences and media will care about A&M after he leaves?

So much buthurt and/or ignorance of the current state of affairs. A&M isn't an "elite" school but it's certainly top 10-15. ANd just because a school had success in the past doesn't mean they will continue to.

Which of those schools you mentioned are currently "elite"?

Oklahoma - recruiting is dying a slow death. Their heyday is when they were cherry picking the top talent in Texas. They've been steadily declining the past 5 years and just last year, as co-champs, got destroyed by A&M. They are not fighting for recruits against Baylor and TCU.

UT - One NC during the Mack Brown era. One. UT is mainly considered "elite" because of MONEY. They can and will likely have to money whip a coach to bring them in, especially with all the turmoil and quick turnaround the fans and boosters will expect and demand.

Notre Dame - had one great year (2012) and two good years since Lou Holtz left in 1996. Been through 4 head coaches during that time as well. Brian Kelly wasn't their first choice either.

USC - Had a great run under Pete Carroll but even that was marred by cheating and other scandals. Is currently under sanctions and the roster and recruiting is frankly a dumpster fire. Will take a lot of cash to bring in a big name head coach to try to turn around the mess. Not really a "destination job" currently, though it could be with the right coach.

Alabama - Yes, this is a legit "elite" school right now.

A&M is a hot team right now and broke fundraising records this past fiscal year. Plus, with the additional cash expected to come from the SEC Network starting in 2014, you can expect A&M to be able to match any offer short of a Texas or Ohio State.

And, like I've said, people close to Sumlin have said that he and his family loves A&M and College Station and the lifestyle there and he wants to stay awhile and build the program. He has tons of in-roads and contacts in HS in Texas and LA. And he's the best college coach for the best team in Texas playing in the best conference in the country. He may leave eventually and his agent will probably use USC to get another raise for him (deservedly). But USC isn't currently a better job for him and I'm betting he won't leave.

I think you are greatly overvaluing your program. One or two good years doesn't put you in the top10-15

USC, UT, Alabama, Ohio State... they all have multi-generational, nationwide fanbases. Even when they suck, they draw ratings and some unfairly high BCS rankings.

No one outside of Texas gave a crap about A&M until Johnny Football showed up. Do you honestly think national audiences and media will care about A&M after he leaves?

Guess you weren't around in the late 80s and early 90s when no one gave a crap about Texas.

Alabama only recently rebuilt their national fanbase with Saban and it's national championships.
UT's fanbase is regional, even though they like the think otherwise. Case in point, difficulty getting the LHN on cable and satellite. When they finally got it on TWC, it was only within the state. There really was little to no demand outside of Texas and even that demand decreased as the football team struggled.
Ohio St, Nebraska, Notre Dame have national fanbases

So if a natty is the litmus test for being elite, A&M isn't elite, and USC hasn't been elite for almost a decade, and before then almost since the mid 70s.

Sumlin is in a better position here. I can buy the LA vs. College Station city argument, because that's viable (though he has kids and a wife, and apparently they love living in College Station). I can buy the money argument, though A&M will match and beat whatever USC throws their way. We're not a poor school. All people here can argue is by throwing out vague buzzwords like "elite" and "prestige" but when it comes to solid, tangible arguments they fall short.

Johnny footballs dont grow on trees so the odds are A&M will have a very noticable drop off. A&M would have to make huge strides in D to offset a drop of Johnny just to stay on par imo

I'm not sure the drop-off will be that gigantic. Will A&M's offense put up monster numbers like before? Probably not. However, I think that Sumlin's system is getting less credit than it should here. No, the next guy will not nearly be as effective as Johnny Manziel but the D will make strides. This is a young defense and Snyder is moving pieces around to find the fit he wants. When it clicks it will be much better than the poor showings we have seen to date. This season is a baptism by fire for the young guys on the D.

Edit: At the end of the day, we all know that Sumlin is going to milk this for all its worth for a pay raise with Texas A&M, but he isn't leaving. The only ones who want him to are USC fans and UH fans who need A&M to taste what they got in order to feel better about themselves.

I'm not sure the drop-off will be that gigantic. Will A&M's offense put up monster numbers like before? Probably not. However, I think that Sumlin's system is getting less credit than it should here. No, the next guy will not nearly be as effective as Johnny Manziel but the D will make strides. This is a young defense and Snyder is moving pieces around to find the fit he wants. When it clicks it will be much better than the poor showings we have seen to date. This season is a baptism by fire for the young guys on the D.

Edit: At the end of the day, we all know that Sumlin is going to milk this for all its worth for a pay raise with Texas A&M, but he isn't leaving. The only ones who want him to are USC fans and UH fans who need A&M to taste what they got in order to feel better about themselves.

That's amusing. "Those folks are dumb and can step off". Wanted to stop reading right there. The "You disagree with me so you're dumb" point is pretty stupid in and of itself. That's just the author giving his Aggie readers a little positive reinforcement to offset their life-long inferiority complex received at the hands of decades of subservience to UT.

USC is in a class of programs that A&M will never enter. Oklahoma, UT, USC, Notre Dame, Alabama..... A&M isn't one of those teams. It's the team that those teams climb over along the way (sometimes with difficulty, A&M is a very good program.... no shame in that) to get to the National Championships they earn decade after decade.

A&M has to claim imaginary titles from the distant past to make itself feel good about even bumping shoulders with those schools. Being the head football coach at USC is a big thing whether the local Aggie fans want to admit it or not. Being the head football coach at Texas A&M isn't as a big a thing at all. It just isn't.

You get someone great to stay around for a couple of decades and win a few national championships and you'll be getting there. Hell, being the head football coach at A&M doesn't even hold a candle to being the head football coach at LSU. How could it ever compare to being the head football coach at USC?

Herv, it seems you, and others on here, are basing your opinions of A&M's football program from what you've seen in the past. And yes, that program could "never" be in the same class with the others that you mention. But, A&M (the university and the football program) has been growing and changing since the 60's probably more than any other university in the US. It's gone from an all male military school of about 5000 or so, to now being a major coed university with about 45,000 students. It's not the same old A&M.

The football program has been evolving along with the school. And, with the move in to the SEC, the new/expanded stadium (3rd largest in college football when complete), second to none training facilities, and money coming in now in record amounts (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/colle...ools/finances/) A&M is now in the same class with the other schools you mentioned. Yes, they don't have all the Football NC's (1 legit NC in 1939) the others have, but they're coming. It's just a matter of time.

Is being the HC at USC a big thing? Yes. Is it bigger than being the HC at A&M? 5 to 10 years ago I would have said yes without question. Now, with everything that's happened over the last 2 years, I can't say that anymore. A&M has put itself in position to be a football power. If you can't see that then we can agree to disagree.

I'm not sure the drop-off will be that gigantic. Will A&M's offense put up monster numbers like before? Probably not. However, I think that Sumlin's system is getting less credit than it should here. No, the next guy will not nearly be as effective as Johnny Manziel but the D will make strides. This is a young defense and Snyder is moving pieces around to find the fit he wants. When it clicks it will be much better than the poor showings we have seen to date. This season is a baptism by fire for the young guys on the D.

Edit: At the end of the day, we all know that Sumlin is going to milk this for all its worth for a pay raise with Texas A&M, but he isn't leaving. The only ones who want him to are USC fans and UH fans who need A&M to taste what they got in order to feel better about themselves.